Ranma 1. Chapter 1

Furinkan High 10 Year Reunion

Disclaimer: If I owned Ranma ½, Ranma and Akane would have at least kissed by the end of the manga.

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Akane Tendo stood at the gates of Furinkan High School with a smile on her face as a flood of memories washed over her. Her memories were a mix of good and bad but most all of them involved a single boy, sometimes girl, with a pig-tail and affinity for Chinese clothing. It still amazed her how much of her life at the time revolved around him. She made her way to the gym, not knowing if he would be attending the reunion but hoping he might show up. After all, it had been six years since she had seen him and that was a short but very memorable meeting.

Akane walked up to the check in table and gave her name to the tall, gaunt looking man sitting at the table.

"Akane Tendo?"

"Yes."

"You probably don't recognize me but I was in your class."

Akane tilted her head to the side, furrowing her eyes brows before recognition hit her and a smile broke out on her face. "Gosunkugi! How are you?"

Gosunkugi sat motionless for a minute, lost in the glow of her radiant smile. Snapping himself out of his daze he handed Akane her name tag. He looked down before saying, "I'm good. I-if you wait a second, I'll walk you in and we can catch up."

Akane gave him another smile and nod before stepping to the side to put her name tag on. Gosunkugi had a quick conversation with the other person seated at the check-in table before joining Akane.

"Umm. So. How have you been?" Gosunkugi asked as they walked into the gym.

Akane looked around and took in the décor of the gym. Tables and chairs were set up around the perimeter of the gym, leaving a small dance area in the middle. On the left side of the gym was a bar and on the side of the stage was a DJ. The gym was already full of people, groups were seated at the tables talking and laughing and others were already enjoying themselves on the dance floor.

"I've been good." As they got to the bar, they both ordered drinks before finding a place to stand and chat. "How about you? What are you doing now? I haven't heard from you since we graduated."

"Well, I'm a photographer now. Mainly print ads for magazines but I try to get to some sporting events throughout the year."

"Oh that's right! You used to have a camera with you all the time in high school. Taking pictures for the yearbook, right?"

Gosunkugi rubbed the back of his neck, "Umm..yeah..the yearbook. I actually got really good at taking action shots of … people while we were in high school. I joined the photography club in college and started getting my pictures published in the school newspaper. Some of my pictures were used in the local news and then some in the national news. Once I graduated, things kind of took off."

"That's great Gosunkugi. You're really lucky to have had made a career out of doing something you love."

He gave her a timid smile before asking, "So, what about you? What are you doing now? Ar-are you married?"

"Me? I actually work for a company that manufactures sports equipment. I help design a line of sporting equipment for females. And no, I'm not married."

"Wait, what happened to the dojo? I thought you were the heir to your family's dojo?"

Akane gave him a small sad smile, "No, I was never the heir."

"Akane!"

Akane turned to see a smiling brunette with pony tail standing next to a very pregnant raven haired girl. She turned back and said, "I'm sorry Gosunkugi but I've got to go say hi to Sayuri and Yuka. I'll talk to you some more later."

Across the gym, Ranma was talking to, or pretending to talk to his friends. Over the years and countless mind-numbing social gatherings, Ranma had perfected the art of appearing interested and engaged while letting his mind wander. He dubbed it the Saotome Sleep Walking Technique.

Ranma had no idea how he got there, he hadn't planned on going but before he knew it, he found himself walking into the gym. If he were being honest with himself, which he was actively avoiding at the moment, he knew exactly why he was there and his reason for being there had just walked into the room. It didn't surprise him that after not seeing her for six years, he could still sense her if she was anywhere near him. He looked over to see her enter with some guy he didn't recognize and he was struck speechless. She looked exactly the same but so different all at once. She had lost the baby fat on her face, making her cheekbones stand out and making her impossibly large brown eyes even larger than he remembered. She had grown out her hair, it was pulled to the side and curled at the bottom. Even from across the room, he could see that her smile was exactly the same. From the moment he met her, it was always her smile that could make his heart skip a beat.

After his brain started working again, he took a good look at the rest of her and was glad that he was able to look at her before trying to talk to her. Even though Ranma called her a tomboy, he knew that Akane always liked wearing skirts and dresses, unless she was working out. So seeing her in a dress wasn't a surprise, the surprise was the style of dress she was wearing. Akane had on a dark blue cocktail dress, with a sweetheart neckline that showed that he could no longer call her flat-chested. The dress had crisscrosses on back that went very low, showing off the smooth skin on her back. It had a fitted bottom and stopped just above the knee which she paired with high heels, showcasing her curvaceous hips and athletic legs. Ranma's would have drooled if his mouth didn't go dry first. Luckily, he was holding a drink which he downed in one. He looked around and realized he wasn't the only one who noticed her entrance, half the guys in the room were admiring the same view and he felt his blood start to boil. Ranma glanced back at Akane, who seemed as oblivious as ever to how she affected the males around her.

Like the great martial artist he was, Ranma was working out a battle strategy on how to deal with Akane. He wanted the perfect attack plan since he felt unsure of himself and he didn't enjoy the feeling. '_Stupid tomboy_.' He thought with a smile on his face.

"So Ranma, what have you been up to. I haven't seen you around town for about five years or so."

"Oh nothing much. Traveling around for work, I'm in private security."

"Oh really," Daisuke said, "what does that entail?"

"Hanging around rich people and making sure they don't get hurt or die."

Just then they all heard "Akane!" being screeched and all turned to see what the commotion was about. Daisuke rolled his eyes, "I'd better get over there to make sure Yuka doesn't get too excited and hurt herself by jumping up and down." He smirked and looked at Ranma, "Hey, Ranma, you haven't been properly introduced to my wife yet, have you? Why don't you come with me and I'll make a proper introduction."

Ranma rolled his eyes and shrugged, "Sure."

They walked up just as Akane started laughing at a comment Sayuri made. Dai put his arms around Yuka's belly, making small circular motions as he gave her cheek a kiss from behind. "Hi, honey."

"Dai! You scared me!"

He laughed, "Sorry. I just wanted to show off my lovely wife to an old friend of mine. You remember Ranma, don't you sweetie? Ranma, this is my wife, Mrs. Yuka Yamamoto" he said, his voice full of pride.

Ranma grinned and gave a low bow, "Nice to meet you Mrs. Yamamoto."

Yuka giggled and bowed as much as her condition would allow before saying, "Hi, Ranma. It's nice to see you again. You remember Sayuri and Akane, don't you?" There was a mischievous look in her eyes as she winked at Ranma and grabbed Akane's hand pulling her forward, face to face with Ranma.

"Subtle. Real subtle, Yuka." Akane said, as she laughed at her friends antics. It was comforting for her to know that certain things hadn't changed and her best-friend's attempt at match-making was one of them. "Hi Dai, hi Ranma. We were just about to find a table so Yuka could get off her feet. Do you want to join us?"

"Of course we will, won't we Ranma!" Before waiting for a reply, Daisuke took Yuka's hand and led the group to the nearest empty table. "So Akane, we didn't think you were going to make it tonight."

"I almost didn't. With the relocation, things got a little crazy but I was able to wrap everything up last week."

"Relocation? Where are you relocating to?" Ranma asked.

"Here, actually. The company I work for is opening a branch office in Tokyo and offered me a position. It was a great offer and it meant I could come back home, so I jumped at the chance. I just got back on Monday."

"Oh, so you're staying at the dojo?"

"No, I was staying at a hotel for a few days while I finalized my living situation. I was working with a realtor while I was still in Boston and had the search narrowed down to a few apartments before I got back. I signed a lease a few days ago and have been settling in since."

"Wow, that's pretty fast work," Sayuri commented.

"Well it helps that I'm familiar with the area and it doesn't hurt that Nabiki owns the agency that's helping with the move."

"Ran-chan!"

Everyone turned to see Ukyo walk up to the table. She was wearing dress pants with a low cut sequin top. It seemed she still had an aversion to dresses but had no trouble playing up her assets. Ranma stood up to give Ukyo a hug and turned to the group, "Ucchan, do you remember everyone?"

"Of course!" She gave a warm smile and said hello to Daisuke, Yuka and Sayuri. She then turned to Akane and gave her a curt nod before turning her attention back to Ranma. It was obvious to all involved that Ukyo did not intend to join them or engage in conversation with the rest of the group. Akane made a conscious effort not to roll her eyes before turning to her friends. She was honestly surprised that Ukyo would hold any grudges against her after all these years but she wasn't going to get worked up over it. This little interaction did not go unnoticed by Ranma, who was also puzzled by the apparent animosity from Ukyo.

"So Ucchan, how are you doing? I haven't seen you since the wedding, where's Konatsu?"

"Oh, he's at home with the baby."

"You guys have a baby? Congratulations!"

Ukyo shot him and irritated look before saying, "Yeah, Chiyo turns 1 next month. You know, you would have known if you tried to come home more often. Or written. Or called."

"Yeah. You know I'm not good with that kinda stuff, sorry."

Ukyo shrugged in response before narrowing her eyes in Akane's direction, "It seems like you keep in touch when you want to."

Ranma just shook his head, "I'm not sure what you mean Ucchan."

Ukyo looked ready to explode. She grabbed his hand and dragged him from the group. "After all that she put you through, I can't believe you are here with her! What the hell are you thinking?"

Iritated at her outburst, Ranma tried to explain. "For your information, I didn't come her with Akane, we ran into each other a couple minutes ago. But even if I did come with her, what's the big deal? I thought we got past all this petty crap years ago, why would it bother you now?"

Ukyo didn't want to admit the truth, that while she liked her life, she always felt like she settled. She knew she had a good husband that was devoted to her, a child she loved more than her own life and a successful business but there was a part of her that never let go of the dream that was Ranma. Late at night when everyone was asleep, she would still think about The One that got away and would imagine what her life would have been like if only he had loved her. She blamed all of this on Akane. Ukyo always knew that it was Akane and not Shampoo or Kodachi, who held Ranma's heart. She just spent far too long in denial, hoping to be able to win him over. Ukyo had thought she had gotten over it but seeing them together tonight was like opening up an old wound that never healed properly. She didn't want to blame Ranma so she focused her pain on the next likely target. "I..I just don't want to see you hurt again. I was the one who was there for you when she left the first time."

Ranma sighed, "I appreciate the concern Ucchan, I really do. But, there is no reason to be rude or hostile towards Akane because of it."

Ranma's comment did the opposite of what he hoped. Ukyo narrowed her eyes further and hissed, "I can't believe you are STILL protecting her after all this time!" She then turned and stomped away leaving a confused Ranma in her wake. Ranma rubbed his hands over his face before turning back to the table where everyone was trying to look like they hadn't seen the little drama play out in front of them. Ranma decided that if everyone else wanted to ignore what happened, he was more than happy to oblige them. "So…Akane, you were telling us about your move?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Umm….so, I'm back in Tokyo. There really isn't much more to tell. I've had this week off to get things settled and I start work on Monday. How about you Ranma? Last I heard, you were traveling the world. I'm surprised you made it here tonight."

"I just finished a job following some spoiled pop star around on her world tour and decided to take a couple weeks off before picking out a new assignment."

Daisuke smirked, "Looks like you two have been keeping pretty good tabs on each other."

"You know, it's not really that hard to do when you consider that our parents live in the same house."

"I didn't realize your parents were still at the dojo."

"Shortly after we graduated, Kasumi married Dr. Tofu and moved out of the house. Mom ended up taking over all the household duties, which made her feel better about staying at the dojo. Unlike Pop, she felt bad about freeloading off the Tendos."

Akane added, "It really worked out for the best. With all of us out of the house, it's nice to know Daddy is being taken care of. And Aunty keeps an eye on our fathers, to make sure they don't do plan anything too stupid."

"Akane!" The group turned to see a girl coming towards them.

"Yumi! It's so nice to see you!"

"Hi, everyone!" Yumi waved to everyone before turning to her attention on Akane. "The rest of the volleyball team is over near the dance floor. Can you come and say hi? We want to take a big group picture!"

"Sure, that sounds fun." Akane turned to the group, "Excuse me for a bit."

After hanging out with her old volleyball team and taking tons of cheesy photos, Akane left to use the restroom. She entered just as Ukyo was washing her hands. Akane gave Ukyo an acknowledging nod before heading towards a stall, but was stopped by when Ukyo called out to her.

"Yes, Ukyo?"

"You know, I didn't think I'd see your face tonight, not after the way you took off."

"Took off? I don't really know what you're talking about. You act like I ran away without telling anyone where I was going. I left to study abroad. You remember, right? You were at my going away party."

"Oh I remember. You left Ran-chan like he didn't mean anything to you and I was the one who was here for him."

"From what I recall, you were more than happy to see me go so that you could have your Ran-chan all to yourself. In fact, you, Shampoo and Kodachi were so happy I was leaving you threw the going away party for me! It was the only time I ever remember you three working together."

"That doesn't change what happened after!"

Akane sighed and took a depth breath in an attempt to control her temper. "Ukyo, I really don't understand why you are upset and why you are blaming me. I'm not responsible for what happened after I left, since I WASN'T THERE. And since we just went over the fact that I left with everyone's blessing, then we shouldn't have a problem, right?"

"Oh, no. Don't think you can get out of it that easy."

Akane's temper finally blew. "GET OUT OF WHAT? I still don't understand what you are blaming me for!"

"Ranma! He changed after you left! He was never the same and it was all because of you!"

"This is ridiculous, that was EIGHT years ago. IF he changed after I left, that was his choice. IF you are mad that he didn't choose you, then be mad at him. We aren't kids anymore; I'm done fighting with you over a boy."

Ukyo stood there fuming. She had been expecting the Akane she used to know who could so easily be provoked into a fight. The person in front of her was different and Ukyo was too emotional to think straight. "Don't think this is over," and stormed out of the bathroom.

Akane took some time to calm herself before going back outside. Whenever she had a spare moment the rest of the evening, she'd glance over to Ranma, as if by just looking at him, she could figure out what Ukyo meant about him changing. It also gave her time to really get to look at how he had physically changed. She noticed that he had grown taller in their time apart, his shoulders broader but his waist was still trim. He still wore his hair in a braid. Gone (at least for that night) were his usual Chinese clothes and replaced by a dark suit that was obviously well tailored. He chose a dark button up shirt to go underneath, forgoing the tie he left the top button undone, allowing her a glimpse of his chest. Every time she looked at him, Akane had an overwhelming desire to kiss that indent where his collar bones met. She noticed he seemed to be as easy going as always but with her martial artist eye, she could tell he was aware of his surrounding and ready to react if something sudden happened. She figured he got plenty of practice in his line of work.

The rest of the evening was uneventful, with Ranma or Akane (mostly Akane) being pulled from the group soon after the other returned. The evening was winding down as Ranma walked up to Daisuke. He realized he hadn't seen Akane in a while and was looking around the room. "If you're looking for Akane, she left about half an hour ago. Yuka was feeling tired and I was going to take her home but Akane told me she wanted more girl time, so they left with Sayuri. I was told I should 'take my time' heading home. I'm guessing there's going to be a lot of giggling when I get back, so I'm hanging out here as long as I can."

Ranma chuckled, "Want to go the bar down the street for a while?"

Daisuke looked a little sheepish, "Umm. I do but I really want to check on Yuka. She's due any day now and I really don't want her to overdo it."

"No problem. It was good seeing ya." The two old friends shook hands and departed with promises to meet up at some vague point in the future.

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Author's Note: This is where I say, this is my first published piece, please be nice. Constructive criticism is more than welcome.

This story just started festering in my mind and demanded to be put on paper. It was originally going to be a one shot but it felt too rushed trying to get everything in. There should be 3 chapters total and maybe an epilogue.


	2. Chapter 2

Akane looked around her office, satisfied she smiled and dusted her hands off. She had opted to go into work on Saturday morning to spend the time she needed to get organized. She had planned to get her office settled before beginning work the following Monday. Through the years and all the chaos, she learned she handled crisis better if her environment was organized. After leaving Nerima, Akane learned that it wasn't just Ranma who was a magnet for trouble and insanity.

Akane was perusing her blackberry as she left her office to grab some lunch. When she turned the corner, she dumped into a solid mass causing her to fall on the ground. She was picking herself up and brushing off her clothes as she said, "Excuse me. I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Still as clumsy as ever, I see."

Akane whipped her head up at the sound of the familiar voice, "Ranma?"

Ranma replied, "Hey, Akane," as he reached down to help her up.

"What are you doing here?"

"My hotel is down the street. I was just walking around, lookin' for a place to eat. How about you?"

"I was just leaving work and going to grab lunch."

Ranma gave her a confused look as he took in her yoga pants and fitted t-shirt. "Work? I thought you weren't starting until Monday."

"I don't, but since all of my stuff arrived, I thought I would get a head start on unpacking my office."

"Since you were going to take a break, do you want to have lunch with me?"

"Sure. I was headed to the café up the street unless you were in the mood for something else?"

"No, I wasn't in the mood for anything in particular."

The pair remained relatively silent during their walk and while they waited for their food.

"So."

"So."

"This is…"

"Awkward?"

Ranma smiled at this. "Yes. But not."

Akane tilted her head and scrunched her nose. "Oddly, I understood that."

"There really is no way to ease into this, is there?"

Akane sat and thought for a moment. Taking a sip of her tea she smiled, "You know what I really missed when I was in Boston? Good tea. I developed a taste for coffee but there is nothing like a good cup of tea. And with my cooking skills, I could never make it taste like Kasumi's."

Ranma smiled, he was grateful that she provided an opening for him to begin the conversation. "Did you enjoy living in Boston?"

"It was nice, I was happy there."

"You look it. You look good."

"Thank you. After all, I couldn't stay an angry, uncute, macho tomboy forever, could I?"

Ranma was surprised that there was no animosity in her voice when she said this and that she was actually smiling. "Ok. Who are you and what've you done with the real Akane?"

Akane laughed. "Oh, she's still here. I still have a temper, I'm just better at reining it in. You seem different too. You haven't insulted me at all."

"Well, I couldn't stay a perverted jerk forever, now could I?" They sat in silence for a while before Ranma decided to ask the question that had been bothering him for the last six years. "Akane, after we…ran into each other….why did you just leave?"

_Flashback_

Akane couldn't remember being in a better mood. She had graduated college the year before and was just finishing up her first year at a job she loved! Akane had taken an internship at a sports equipment manufacturing company during her last semester and was pleased when they offered her a full time position when she graduated. It was a difficult decision but she decided to take the offer and stay in Boston instead of returning home to Japan. The last year had been exciting; it was the first time in her life that she felt truly independent. She had started making friends at work and had even started dating. She was proud to say that she was good at her job. So good in fact, that they had sent her to a conference in New York. It was her first time in the city and she was happily playing tourist now that she had some free time. She was wandering around Times Square by herself, enjoying the sites when she heard her name called. When she turned around, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her mind seemed to freeze as she gazed upon the last person she thought she would see.

Ranma had a rare day to himself. The rich gentleman he was working as a body guard for had decided to stay in that day, and let his new mistress entertain him in private. Since it was his first time in New York, he decided he would walk around and take a look at the sites he had only seen in movies. He was standing on a median near a TKTS booth when a petite blue-black haired girl in a sundress walked by. Before he knew what he was doing he had called out her name. It was obvious that she was as shocked as he was. He walked up to her, unsure of what to say or do. "Hi."

"Hi."

They stood there staring at each other as people walked by. They may have stayed there frozen all day but someone bumped into Akane, pushing her directly into Ranma's chest. He caught her, putting his hands on her shoulders to help her balance. They looked at each other and turned in unison, walking down the street together in silence. They had gone for a few blocks before Ranma pulled her into coffee shop. "Let's get something to drink and have a seat for a second." To his surprise, she didn't object.

Akane sat at a table as Ranma stood in line to buy them drinks. She couldn't believe that she had run into _him _here. She was feeling completely happy a few minutes ago and now, she didn't know how she felt. It had taken her awhile but she had learned to stop thinking of Ranma, it became easy for her to ignore the part of her mind that thought of him at random moments. Having him suddenly appear in front of her caused all the neat little walls she had built to crack.

It didn't help her nerves that he looked good, really good. He was wearing a black fitted v-neck t-shirt, dark jeans, a black leather jacket and black boots. Even with the jacket on, she could see the strong muscles of his chest outlined on his shirt. The outfit gave him a slightly dangerous look and she blushed as she realized how much she liked it.

Ranma couldn't believe it. The girl he spent the last two years thinking of, was there. He had plenty of fantasies of what he would do or say if he saw her again. In every fantasy he smooth and confident, always knowing exactly what to say and how to act. But having her pop up like this made him feel like the shy, socially awkward boy he was when they first met.

It didn't help that she looked amazing. He had always thought she was beautiful, even if he spent most of his time vehemently denying it loudly to anyone who would listen. She was wearing a light blue sundress with fitted waist, ballet flats, and a matching cardigan. Her hair was still short and held back with a wide headband. Ranma glanced over to see her sitting on a chair by a window, the sun illuminating her from behind making her look angelic and making his heart beat faster. He groaned to himself as he thought of her scent. He got a good whiff of her when she had bumped into him. It was exactly the same as he remembered; the scent of soap with just a hint of vanilla. The combination of fresh and slightly sweet that was perfect for her.

"You still like lemonade, right?" Ranma asked as he handed her a drink.

"Yeah, that sounds great."

They sat in silence, sipping on their drinks.

"So."

"So."

Akane started giggling out of nervousness, "What are you doing here Ranma?"

"I'm here for work. How about you?"

"Same. I finished with everything I needed to do yesterday and planned an extra day here so I could look around. I'm just sightseeing today."

"Me too. I have the rest of the day off and decided to check out the city."

They sat in silence a while longer before Akane asked timidly, "Umm…would…do you want to come with me?" When Ranma didn't reply right away, she added, "I mean you don't have to. If you have other things…"

"Yes!" Akane was clearly startled by his sudden and loud response. "I mean," Ranma coughed, "yeah, that sounds like fun." In response, Akane gave him one of her dazzling smiles. When he regained some of mental acuity, he asked, "S-s-so, where did you plan on going today?"

The two spent the rest of the day together taking in the sites. It was awkward at first but they eventually started to loosen up and enjoy themselves. It helped that by unspoken agreement they avoided any hot button issues, including, but not limited to fiancées, fathers, rivals, dojos, cooking, and little bandana wearing black piglets.

The only notable thing that happened that afternoon occurred when they sat down on a bench in Central Part for lunch. They decided on hot dogs and soda, to get the full New York experience. The cart vendor didn't even seem surprised when Ranma ordered five fully loaded dogs for himself. They were just unwrapping their food when a group of middle school boys ran by, shooting each other with water guns and squirting Ranma and Akane right in the face. Akane grabbed a napkin to dry herself with and when she looked over and was shocked to see Ranma was still male.

"You…you're cured!"

Ranma gave her a cocky grin and said, "Yeah."

Getting over her shock, Akane gave him a glomp any Amazon would be proud of. She blushed when she realized what she was doing and awkwardly moved away. Still smiling she picked up her food. They ate in silence, both enjoying the sun and content having the other for company.

Neither would admit it but it was one of the best days they ever had. It was fun just being together and reminded them of the few quiet times they enjoyed together when they were younger.

After dinner they started walking around again, neither of them wanting the day to end. Ranma noticed that they were close to the hotel he was staying at. "Hey 'Kane, my hotel is near here. You wanna come up to my room?"

Akane's eyebrow shot up, "You want me to come up to your hotel room?"

It took Ranma a second before he understood her question. He started to wave his hands in from of him frantically, "Not, like that! I mean…I've been having fun, I just…well I thought, we could…I dunno talk or something," he ended lamely.

Akane looked at him and noticed the blush creeping across his face and stopped herself from giggling. He really didn't look like he was planning anything perverted and she'd just pound him if he tried anything. "Sure."

Ranma looked startled but happy by her answer and lead her towards his hotel. They had another awkward moment when they entered the room where the king sized bed was predominately featured. Fortunately, there was a small sitting area to one side where they sat down.

"I..uummmm..had fun today."

"Me too. I'm glad we ran into each other."

"I don't want to ruin the fun we had today but I gotta know, why did you leave?"

"You know why I left."

"No. I know what you told everyone, but I want to know the real reason you left."

Akane sat for a long time staring at her hands. She didn't want to get go into all the reasons she left but after all the time apart, she felt she owed him some sort of explanation. Taking a deep breath she said, "One day after class, one of my professors pulled me aside and told me about the study abroad program available through the university. She was impressed with my work and thought that it would be a good opportunity for me and urged me to consider it. Well, at first I brushed it off, I couldn't really imagine leaving home. But when I got home that night, we got into a fight about…I dunno, why the sky was blue. We started the typical round of insults that ended up with me pounding you with something or other. Then our dads started in on us joining the schools and I stormed off to my room. I started to pull out my homework when the brochures fell out. I took a good look at them and thought that being somewhere else, anywhere else, might be not be a bad thing.

"You probably don't remember but I came to you a week later. You were in the dojo and I asked you if we could talk. I told you that I didn't need you to declare anything to me. That I wasn't ready for marriage but asked you if you could imagine a future with me. You blew me off, told me that you were sick of everyone pressuring you and that you would 'never marry an uncute, macho tomboy who couldn't boil water without instructions'. I submitted my application the next day."

Ranma sat there staring at her before blurting out, "THAT'S why you left?"

"What do you mean 'THAT'S' why I left?"

Ranma got up and started pacing the room, mumbling to himself, "Of all the stupid..." He stopped and looked at Akane before saying, "I remember that conversation. I remember it perfectly. Do you have any idea what I went through that day? Shampoo tried to drug me and then drag me off on a date. Ukyo saw her and stopped her but proceeded to latch onto my arm and started to rub up against me, all the while telling me why we would be so happy together. I finally pried her off and spent an hour dealing with Kodachi. Once I got away from her I came home to find our fathers had planned yet _another _wedding. I was in the dojo that day because I was cleaning up the wedding decorations! Then you come in and ask me that. I was frustrated so I yelled at you. I can't believe you took me seriously!" At this point Ranma had started pulling on his pigtail.

Akane stood up and got in his face, "Of course I took you seriously! You always called me your uncute, macho, built like a brick, tomboy fiancée! To make it worse, you called me that in front your "cute" fiancées. What else was I supposed to think? You have no idea how that used to make me feel! I can't believe you STILL don't understand that what comes out of your mouth matters!"

"I know I was stupid and I said stupid things but why did you have to take it seriously that day? You always forgave me and brushed it off. It was just a bad day for us to have THAT talk."

"You don't get it! When was there ever a GOOD day for us to talk? There was always something crazy going on and when we did have a quiet moment, someone would interrupt us. I was tired of it. We had graduated high school two years earlier and you still didn't look like you were any closer to making a decision. You acted like you were happy to have all the girls around chasing you and I had deal with it being thrown in my face, EVERY DAY. I watched as my friends dated, falling in and out of love. Some of them got engaged and married but we were still in the same damn holding pattern!" By this point, Akane was pacing waving her arms around as she ranted.

"So, I figured if you didn't want me, you didn't want me. Maybe, just maybe, it was me that was stopping you from exploring your relationship with the other girls. I knew I never reacted well when I saw you with them and maybe you were too scared of how I was going to react, so you never spent the time with them you wanted. So, I thought I'd make it easier on everyone and leave. Give you some space to focus on the other girls and pick the one you really wanted." She narrowed her eyes and pointed an accusing finger at him, "And it worked! You left for China with Shampoo a year later!"

At that point Ranma felt the need to pound his head on the wall. "I did not leave with Shampoo!" When Akane only glared at him he added, "NOT in the way you were thinking! Shampoo's village was on the verge of war and they sent a message to Cologne explaining the situation and asked for everyone to come back as quickly as possible. The situation was so bad that Cologne asked me if I would go with them to help. At first I said no, thinking it was some sort of trick to get me back to their village and married. Cologne swore to me that it wasn't a trap and I eventually got her to agree to dissolve the kiss of marriage on me and the kiss of death on you if I went. Cologne took a blood oath on it. I was there for two months helping to defend the village before some sort of truce was met. After that, I left and I never went back. I haven't seen Shampoo since. NOTHING happened while I was in China. I admit that I found her attractive when we she first started throwing herself at me and yes, I enjoyed the attention at first."

Ranma sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "I still feel like an idiot for how I acted when Shampoo had that stupid jewel on and acted like she hated me. But there was never anything between Shampoo and I. I never felt anything for her."

Akane stood staring at Ranma. There was just too much emotion and too much information for her to process in a short period of time. She had spent years not thinking of these things and having them laid out in front of her left her feeling vulnerable. All of her insecurities seem to have rushed back and with them her anger and sadness. It only made her feel worse that they went from enjoying each other's company to fighting in the blink of an eye. Akane suddenly dropped her defensive posture and looked at the floor, shaking her head. "This was a bad idea. I shouldn't've come up." Akane turned to leave and stopped when she felt Ranma's hand on her wrist.

Ranma wasn't in a much better place. He finally had some answers from her but they made him feel worse, not better. Ranma being who he was, was always a do first think later (much later) kind of guy, so it was unnerving not knowing what to do or say. The only thing he was certain of was he didn't want her to leave. "Don't go."

"Why? This doesn't change anything that happened."

Ranma watched as she turned to face him, clearly trying to blink back tears. He knew she would never try to use her tears against him, that she was the only person in his life who never tried to manipulate him.

When she felt more in control, she continued, "All we ever end up doing is fighting. We should've left well enough alone."

Ranma stepped closer to her, grabbing her other wrist. "Please, stay." He moved his right hand to her chin, lifting her face, resting his forehead against hers. They stood motionless for a few moments before Ranma brought his hand to the top of her head and started to move it down to the back of her neck, his thumb creating small circles on her throat. He slowly lowered his lips, giving her a soft kiss on the mouth. It was sweet, gentle and in Akane's opinion, much too short. As he pulled away she leaned forward with another kiss. They traded butterfly kisses back and forth until Akane stepped closer to Ranma and wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist. As their lips touched, Akane parted her mouth, running her tongue over the bottom of his lip. Ranma moaned at the sensation and squeezing her tightly, deepening their kiss. Ranma pulled her slowly back into the room where he sat on the bed and pulled Akane onto his lap as he continued to kiss her.

Gasping for breath, Akane pulled back, resting her forehead against his. She took the opportunity to look into Ranma's eyes, which were slightly glazed and full of desire. Making a quick decision she moved off of Ranma's lap. Ranma felt a wave of disappointed when Akane moved off his lap which quickly turned to surprise when she straddled his lap and slowly pushed him onto his back. She kissed his mouth again before moving to kiss his jaw and slowly giving him kisses down his neck while her hands reached under his shirt to feel his rock hard abs and slowly roamed up to his chest. Ranma didn't remain surprised for long and he allowed his hands to start an exploration of their own. He put his hands on her legs slowly moving both hands up her thighs and under the hem of her skirt. He had spent all day covertly staring at her long legs and was amazed that he was allowed to touch her soft silky skin. When his hands roamed farther up over the curve of her butt and when he gave her a small squeeze, Akane moaned. At that moment, he felt like the luckiest man alive.

Akane knew that Ranma would never push her into doing anything she wasn't ready for, so she slowly took the lead in their exploration. Neither were shy and both fully enjoyed giving each other pleasure in ways they had only dreamed of before. Fully spent, they fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms.

When Ranma woke up the next morning, he was surprised to see he was alone in the bed. He got up, pulling on his boxer shorts as he went to check the bathroom. Pushing open the door, he called out "Akane?" When he saw that she wasn't there he went to sit down on his bed, his heads in his hands. His only thought, 'S_he left me…again_.'

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! I appreciate you taking the taking the time to post a response. The positive reviews are very encouraging!

I hope that this new chapter didn't disappoint. I know I left this on a flashback, which is a little weird but it was the best place in the story to end the chapter. I am afraid some of you will be disappointed with the lack of interaction with other characters. I've given this story a real life spin and in real life, the people who you surrounded yourself with at 16 are not always there when you are 28.

Now that this chapter has been posted, I can say this story was partially inspired by Ranma, The Second Time Around by kayemsi. In The Second Time Around, Ranma says by the time he was killed, they were all in college and had spent 5 years without him making a decision on who he wanted to be with. It got me thinking, would Akane really have stayed around for it all? Part of me said, yes! Of course she would, she loved him and they belonged together. Another part of me said no. Akane would have gotten tired of the situation and tried to do something about it. Ranma is of course, the biggest catalyst for change in the Ranmaverse. But I feel that Akane can also really affect the story line if she took action. This is why most of the stories in my head start with her making decisions/changes that ripple through to the lives of the other characters.

**Archangel on the hill –** Now that this chapter is posted, I hope it cleared up some of the confusion. In case it hasn't, here is a timeline of events.

They graduated high school at 18, Akane spent 2 years at a local university before leaving to study abroad at 20. Ranma left roughly a year later, at 21. Akane and Ranma's encounter in New York occurred when they were 22.

**Richard Ryley –** Thanks for the thoughtful review. To be honest, I've always been confused on which was Sayuri and which was Yuka. I don't remember their names being mentioned in the manga and only remember it from the 'Akane Goes to the Hospital' episode of the Anime. I've corrected the mistake since I hate inaccuracies. Also, great insight to Akane as a character. You nailed the reason she left, although it probably wasn't all that hard to figure out.

**Kikko -** This isn't my first written piece, just the first I posted. I had gotten pretty far into a resolution story when I got to a point where I didn't know how to actually resolve it.


	3. Chapter 3

Ranma sat and patiently waited for a response. After six years, he figured he could give her a few more minutes to gather her thoughts. After all, he had nothing planned for the rest of the afternoon and he was determined to get some answers.

Akane took a deep breath. "I knew this question was coming but I still don't know how to respond." Ranma remained quiet and continued to stare at her, which unnerved her slightly. "There were a few reasons, I just don't know where to start. Can we not talk about this here though? My apartment is a few blocks away, can we talk there?" They quickly finished their food and left for her apartment. As they entered, Akane said, "Sorry for the mess, I'm still trying to get everything put away."

Ranma glanced around, it was a small apartment, like most in Tokyo. There were very few decorations on the wall but he guessed those items were what remained in the boxes. She had a mix of modern and traditional furniture that looked comfortable and lived in. It was obvious she still loved color, she had splashes of it everywhere. Ranma walked over to the book case and noticed there was one photo on the bookshelf. He was pleased to see that it was the Christmas gift that he gave her years ago, a framed photo of all their friends after the adventure on Toma's island.

"Have a seat. Do you want something to drink?"

"No, I'm fine."

Akane grabbed a bottle of water and sat down on the couch, pulled a pillow onto her lap and took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry for how I acted. I know you may never forgive me for it but there was a reason…I wasn't trying to be cruel to you. I was really confused when I woke up next to you, I must've laid there for half an hour just thinking before I left. Part of me felt ashamed. Not of what we did but because …

"Do you remember I told you that I thought you left to be with Shampoo? When I found out I was really hurt but after some time, I realized that you must be happy and that made it a little better. After all, that was part of the reason why I left in the first place.

"It took some time but I got over it. Or at least I thought I did. After a while I started dating. By the time we saw each other in New York, I had a boyfriend. We'd had been seeing each other exclusively for about six months. I… I was never…intimate with him. Hell, in all that time, we never went farther than making out a bit. But one day with you and…well…you know what happened."

Ranma had remained quiet and continued to do so while Akane talked. His hands had clenched automatically at the thought of her kissing someone else. Intellectually, he knew that she would have had other men in her life while they were a part. Emotionally, he had a hard time dealing with it and it was difficult hearing about her past romances, regardless of how vague she was trying to be. Ranma knew he had never been good dealing with his jealousy where Akane was concerned, rational or not.

"Even though, I thought you were _with_ Shampoo, you never sent a message to your family saying that you had gotten married. And until that happened, part of me felt that we were still engaged. I felt guilty dating him because I felt like I was cheating on you. Then we made love and it was wonderful but when I woke up realized I cheated on him. I can't even begin to explain how terrible it was, feeling like I was cheating on both of you.

"I never thought I would be that type of girl. I may have been able to deal with it the next day if I wasn't also…" Akane took a deep breath and looked him in the eye, "Scared. We didn't talk much the day before, not about anything significant. We got some things cleared up but there were so many things that were left unsaid and I just didn't know what to think. I mean, after what we did, I knew you were attracted to me but I didn't know if you felt anything more. I was afraid that you'd wake up and act like nothing significant had happened, or you'd call me a tomboy, or just blow me off completely.

"Worse, I thought that after what happened, you would feel obligated to marry me even if you didn't love me. I never wanted to be like the other girls, trying to trick or trap you into marriage."

Ranma could no longer sit still, so he got up and started pacing. It was obvious he was agitated and trying to control his emotions. "Only you can make me feel THIS crazy. Do you know what you put me through that morning? We could have settled this then if only you stayed and talked to me!"

"I know! What I did was stupid but think about what it was like when we were younger. Every time we made a little progress in our relationship, you would deny it or act like it never happened. I never felt like I was important to you."

Ranma was flabbergasted and looked at her as if she were crazy, "Are you kidding me? I killed someone to protect you."

"And I died for you." Akane sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "With everything that happened at Jusendo, I thought there would be a turning point in our relationship. I had hoped that things would be different, but they weren't. You reacted the way you always did when we would get a little closer, you denied that anything happened. And I don't say that to put the blame solely on you. I was just responsible. I was never brave enough to come out and tell you how I felt. I…I was always afraid you would reject me."

Shaking his head, he said sadly, "You never did trust me."

"I did trust you. I trusted that you would always come to rescue me if I got in trouble. I trusted that you would have my back in a fight. I trusted you to be my friend. But I couldn't trust you with my heart. Think about it. We had been engaged for five years and the only time we held hands was after we left Ryungenzawa. We had never had a proper date. The _only_ time we came close to a date was when Nabiki tricked us into it and you originally thought the date was with her. We kissed once and that was when you were in the Nekoken and you couldn't even remember it."

Ranma was still frustrated but some of his frustration was turned inward. After that fateful night in New York, he had spent a lot of time thinking about their relationship and everything that lead up to her leaving him the way she did. He had already figured out some of what Akane had told him but it was difficult to listen to how she viewed their past. Worse was the pain he could hear in her voice. After all these years and all the time they spent apart, he still couldn't stand to see her hurt, physically or emotionally.

Ranma rubbed his face with his hands, "I know I wasn't the easiest person to deal with. But you hafta know…" Ranma was interrupted by a knock on the door. Akane eyed it warily, wondering if she could ignore the door. Ranma just raised his right hand and gestured for her to open it.

"Just hold that thought." Akane moved to open the door and was puzzled at who she saw standing there. "Edward? What are you doing here?"

"Akane. Good you're home." Ranma was standing off to one side of the living room, the door blocking his view. Suddenly he saw a tall, sandy blond haired man push past Akane and walk into the apartment. He turned towards Akane, completely missing the fact that Ranma was there. "I figured it out" he continued, "I know what I did wrong. I wasn't ready to fully commit to you and that pushed you away. I didn't realize until after you left that I couldn't live without you."

Ranma watched as Edward pulled a small box out of his pocket and dropped to one knee. Ranma thought, _'This can't be happening. This has got to be some sick joke.'_

"Akane, will you marry me?"

Akane was in shock. She fleeting thought, '_The only way for this to get any worse is if Kuno showed up with a dozen red roses, spouting bad poetry'_. She scanned the hall before quickly closing the door, not wanting to push her luck. The sound of a throat clearing in the room alerted Edward to Ranma's presence and he got slowly to his feet.

Akane's brain kicked into gear, "Ranma Saotome, this is Edward Adams. Edward Adams, Ranma Saotome." At the mention of Ranma's name, Edward's eyes seemed to widen. She watched as the men started to glare at one another.

Edward finally broke the silence saying, "Ranma, it's nice to meet you," and sticking out his hand.

"Same," was Ranma's response before shaking Edward's hand. Their handshake lasted longer than would be considered polite and looked painful. As they let go, Ranma simply crossed his arms over his chest and continued to stare at Edward.

In response, Edward gave him a tight smile. Now, Edward was no martial artist but if he were, Akane imagined that his battle aura would be showing. "I'm sorry to interrupt you two but it would seem that Akane and I have a bit to discuss. Would you mind terribly if we had some time alone?"

Ranma was about to respond but was cut off when Akane said, "Actually, that's probably a good idea. Ranma, would you mind if we continue this later?"

Ranma glared at her, clenched his jaw and gave her short nod as he walked out.

* * *

The next night, Akane found herself at her ancestral home. She was sitting in the middle of the dojo, her arms around her legs staring at the shrine. She had been coming to the dojo and sitting in almost the same exact spot since she was a child. She hadn't realized how much she missed the dojo and the sense of peace it could bring her.

Her father had called and asked her to come attend a family dinner since almost all of the "kids" were in town. She had already said greeted her father, Genma and Nodoka. There was still some stiffness in Genma's greeting but she was happy to see that Nodoka had greeted her warmly. In the time Nodoka lived with them, Akane had begun to think of her as a surrogate mother. Sure, Nodoka had some odd ideas about male/female roles, but she was always there for Akane when she needed it. Shortly after the failed wedding attempt, they had begun having lunch once a week followed by a shopping trip to the local mall. They spent most of their time window shopping and chatting. It turned into a ritual of sorts (which drove the other girls crazy).

Akane was always grateful that Nodoka never gave up on trying to teach her how to cook, sew, or trying anything that was remotely domestic. And after the failed wedding attempt, Nodoka had stopped joining in on Genma and Soun's schemes and had tried to give Ranma and Akane space to work out their issues. Akane had missed her dearly over the years.

Nabiki was the only family member who wouldn't be able to attend dinner. She was currently out of the country on business. She owned several companies and liked to visit their international offices to make sure they were running smoothly. Truth be told, her employees were terrified of her and she felt her random visits kept them on their toes. She was rarely in Japan for long and when she was there, she stayed in her downtown apartment. After having been repeatedly hounded by her father on when she was going to settle down, Nabiki had finally told him she would never marry. She enjoyed her independence and her disposable income way too much to give it up for any man and never considered herself the motherly type.

Kasumi and Tofu were arriving shortly with their three boys; Toru age 6, Kinji age 4, and Tomeo age 1. If their parents were to be believed, each had very promising futures in martial arts. It wasn't really a surprise considering who their father was and their mother's lineage. Soun and Tofu were both taking a hand in training the boys and Soun was happy that he finally had heirs for his dojo. Even Genma had started to train Toru in the Saotome School of Anything Goes. Kasumi made sure that either she or Tofu attended every training session with Genma, to make sure he stuck to safe training methods. Neither wanted any of their sons being thrown into a pit of starving cats.

Akane couldn't wait to see her nephews and had reluctantly agreed to not buy them any new toys. Instead, she had planned on sneaking them some candies she bought over from America.

Akane was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Ranma watching her from the doorway. She only noticed his presence as he sat down next to her. They sat in silence for a while before Akane said, "Hi."

"Hey." More silence surrounded the duo until Ranma added, "So, I guess congratulations are in order." When Akane gave him a puzzled look, he continued, "You know, about your engagement to Edward."

"Oh, _that_."

He ground out, "Yes, that."

"We aren't engaged."

Now it was Ranma's turn to give her a puzzled look, "What? Why? I thought you asked me to leave last night so you could accept and…celebrate in private."

"No, I asked you to leave because the situation was already complicated and having you, of all people there, would have made it more worse."

"Why did you turn him down? And what do you mean by me of all people?"

"I broke up with Edward before I came back. I was honest with him about my past and our engagement. It was obvious he recognized your name when I introduced you two." Akane took a deep breath, "When we started to date, I had warned Edward that it most likely wouldn't work out between the two of us, but he didn't believe me. Edward is a great guy; he's successful, comes from a good family, he's funny, handsome, polite and generous. So, I finally agreed to go out with him. At first it was nice, we got along and I thought things might be different. In the end though, it was the same. So I broke up with him."

"I'm confused, what do you mean the same? The same as what?"

"I told you that about my first boyfriend right? Well after New York, I went back to Boston and told him I couldn't see him anymore. When I explained why, he told me that he was upset but that he would try to forgive me and he didn't want us to break up. If possible, it made me feel worse than I already felt. I knew I didn't love him and couldn't stay with him, so I broke it off.

"After that, I spent a lot of time thinking and realized that I had been running away from my problems. I never dealt with how I felt; I just pushed my feelings aside. When I finally started dealing with things, I realized that I was pretty messed up emotionally. It took a lot of work but I eventually dealt with my insecurities and trust issues. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I'll always have some issues, I am human after all.

"After I felt like I was in a better place emotionally, I had started to date again. Some of the guys were martial artist but mostly they were nice, normal guys. All of them were really sweet actually. But none of my relationships lasted very long. I couldn't give them what they needed. I never love any of them, or even came close to it. And trust me, I really tried.

"It wasn't their fault, there was always something in me that knew they weren't the one. I always felt bad about hurting their feelings but it was better than letting them think we had any sort of future together. After a while it became easier to not date at all. I hadn't really dated anyone in over a year when I met Edward, and well… I was lonely. I cared for him but never loved him. I broke up with him even before I decided I was moving back." Akane shrugged her shoulders and went back to staring at the shrine.

They sat together in silence for a short while before being interrupted by the sound of small feet pounding on dojo floor.

It would surprise those who knew them but the joint Saotome and Tendo families had learned over the years to not mention the arranged marriage to either Ranma or Akane. With both children out of the house, it became harder and harder for their parents to assert any type of pressure or influence on their children. When the parents did manage to bring up the engagement, both children had similar reactions; phone calls would be ended quickly and if they were visiting, they would simply leave the house all together.

It had been almost seven years since both children and their parents were all together and it proved challenging for the fathers to curb their instincts to meddle. There were several instances which pushed their father's self-control to the limit, like when Ranma would be polite and deferential to Akane or when Akane smiled and laughed at Ranma's jokes. Any outbursts were stopped by Nodoka or Kasumi, who would distract the fathers with Sake, food, or Kasumi's sons. At one point during dinner, Ranma had made a joke and in response, Akane laughed and touched Ranma's shoulder lightly. Seeing the excitement in Soun and Genma's eyes, Kasumi announced that she was once again pregnant and was hoping for a little girl.

Since both Ranma and Akane had been dreading dinner, it came as a surprise that they both had enjoyed themselves. After dinner, everyone went to the dojo and watched as the boys gave a small demonstration of their skills. Tofu and Kasumi's pride in their offspring was obvious as their boys performed their katas and then engaged in a sparring match. Eventually, the boys convinced Ranma to join them and everyone laughed as Toru and Kinji chased him around the dojo before dog-piling on their uncle.

Tofu and Kasumi left shortly after to put their boys to bed. Ranma and Akane stayed a little while longer to talk with their parents. Their parents were happy to see them getting along and were ecstatic when Ranma offered to take Akane home. When they reached her apartment, Akane thanked Ranma and was surprised when he asked her if he could come up.

During dinner, Ranma decided that it was time to put all his cards on the table and see where they landed. He was tired of living with regret and dealing with what-ifs. And after the fiasco yesterday, he would not be responsible for his actions if they were interrupted again. After all, a man can only take so much.

As soon as they got settled in Akane's apartment, he blurted out, "You know I never stopped thinking about you. Not when you left for school, not when I was in China, especially not after New York and not in all the years since."

Ranma took a deep breath and continued, "I've only had two regrets in my life. The first is how I treated you when we were younger. The second, is that I never told you how I felt about you when I had the chance. I knew I was always a jerk but I never knew how much that affected you until we talked in New York. I'm sorry. Sorry for everything."

Akane was touched by his honesty, Ranma had obviously matured over the years but she knew he still had a hard time expressing his emotions. She reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it slightly. "It's ok. I had forgiven you a long time ago for what happened when we were kids, we were both just so young when we met. Besides, you weren't the cause of all out problems. I know my temper, jealousy, and ability to misinterpret a situation made things worse."

Ranma looked into her eyes and said, "I need to know, is there any chance for us to have a future together?"

Akane was honestly shocked by his question. She wasn't dumb, she knew they still had chemistry. During dinner it was obvious that their name calling and arguments had evolved into teasing and flirtation. But she felt it was just that, flirting. Akane stayed silent for so long that it caused Ranma to come to his own conclusion.

"I guess that means no."

"No. I mean yes. I mean…" Akane took a deep breath, "Why? How can you forgive me for everything that happened?"

It took a moment Ranma to realize that he had never come out and told her how he felt. In his mind, his feelings for her were obvious but he never truly expressed his feelings for her.

"When we were younger, I never thought about things. I was just focused on martial arts or the next challenge. I never really gave much thought to the whole fiancée mess because things seemed to just work themselves out.

"I didn't really start thinking about things, until you left. When you told us you were going, I was so angry with you that I didn't try to stop you. Then you started distancing yourself from me and I couldn't or wouldn't be the first one to try to mend things. I think part of me thought of it as a challenge and I figured if I was the first one to break, I would lose.

"After you left, I started to change. I started to get angry at everyone. Mainly because I was angry at myself and had no other outlet. I was just so damn pissed that I didn't even bother to take you to the airport and that I never once said anything to you about how I felt. I spent a few months snapping at everyone and getting into fights." He rolled his eyes, "I know, I was always getting into fights, but I had stopped trying to avoid them and I stopped holding back. I realized I was going too far when I almost put Ryoga in the hospital. Can you imagine how hard I had to hit Ryoga to send him, of all people to the hospital?

"After that fight, I started to avoid everyone. I would take off on my own for training trips without telling anyone. Mom and Kasumi started to get really concerned. Pop and your dad were still trying to get me to follow you but I would just ignore them. I'd spend most of that time thinking about everything that happened and finally realized how badly I treated you. I mean, l'm not taking all the blame for everything but I started to understand how what I said and how I acted could have been interpreted.

"It wasn't long before Shampoo and Cologne asked me to go with them. I spent the entire time in China either fighting or alone. It drove Shampoo crazy. She really thought that if I went back to the village, she could convince me that I had a place there. She had no idea how wrong she was. Being there gave me a chance to see how the males were treated. Even the male warriors like Mousse had very limited rights and were treated like second class citizens. I still have no clue why she thought I would want to be in a society like that.

"After I left the Amazons, I went to Jusenkyo for my cure. I was traveling home when I found a man traveling alone and being attacked, so I intervened. I found out that he was some rich business man from Australia who was out looking for adventure. He offered me a job, acting as his body guard for the remainder of his trip. Since I had nothing else to do and wasn't looking forward to heading back, I agreed. Afterwards, he offered me a full time position as his body guard. I traveled with him to different countries, always trying to learn new techniques as I went. That is how I ended up in New York.

"Shortly after we saw each other, his mistress hit on me. I thought that he would be upset when he came in to see her coming on to me but he just shrugged and walked out. Afterwards, I found out he didn't care who his mistress did as long as she was up to doing him later. That was when I quit.

"We were in LA at the time. I ended up finding some work as a stuntman and sometimes as an extra in martial arts movies. It was basically a big game for me and it got really boring after a while. I started to get antsy and wanted to travel again. One of the stars on the set of the last movie I worked on was leaving for a movie and offered me a job as a body guard. Since then I've taken one job after another as a body guard. I've made a bit of a name for myself, so there really isn't a shortage of people who want to hire me on."

Akane sat quietly through his tale, she was fascinated by his story but amazed at how long he was talking. The Ranma she remembered was never quiet but he wasn't loquacious either.

"I spent the entire time before and after New York thinking about you and trying to forget you. I tried dating and had some relationships but I couldn't ever love them. Every time I even tried being intimate with someone, I could only think of you. It was so frustrating. Sure, there were some girls who didn't care but despite how it looked, I was never that type of guy.

"You know, in some ways we are so similar. After a while, it was easier for me to avoid relationships and women altogether. I got lonely like you did but growing up the way I did, I was just used to it.

"No one has come close to making me feel the way I feel when I'm around you." He looked into her eyes, "Do you know why I never settled down in one place?"

Akane just shook her head. She was finding it very difficult to breath, much less speak.

"It's because when I think of home, I don't think of a place. I think of you. I love you and always have."

Akane was overwhelmed and tried to blink back the tears forming in her eyes.

"So, do you think we can start over?"

Akane tilted her head to the side, giving him a dazzling smile she said, "Hi. My name's Akane. Want to be friends?"

Ranma gathered her into his arms and whispered into her ear, "No, but it's a good start."

* * *

**A/N:** We now know what happened to Ranma. Most of the story so far has been about Akane and Ranma needed his moment to shine and show how much he's grown. This chapter took a lot longer than anticipated to get done, my first draft didn't have the right tone. It's a little WAFFY and cheesy at the end but hey, they deserve it.

I originally planned for this story to only have three chapters but a small epilogue has popped into my head. It'll resolve some additional issues and should be fun.

To those of you who live in the US, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!


	4. Chapter 4

**3 Months Later**

Soun Tendo, Genma and Nodoka Saotome were looking forward to a rare evening out. When Nabiki had called him a few weeks ago to tell him she would be visiting, Akane had decided to take everyone to dinner. Akane claimed she wanted to celebrate her move home and having the entire family together. However, Soun thought Akane just wanted to impress Nabiki (they had been competing with each other since they were young children).

As they took a look around, they were impressed by the subtle elegance of their surroundings. Soun was glad he had donned the charcoal grey suit Akane had sent him for Christmas last year, it gave him a distinguished look. Soun still wore his hair long but it was now salted with grey.

Nodoka, not having many opportunities to go out, was happy to have a reason to wear the brand new silk kimono that her son had given her. The kimono was cream in color and had a blue floral pattern throughout the material. Nodoka still wore her hair an elegant bun at the back of her head. Ranma had also given a matching kimono to his father, it was a simple dark blue silk that matched the flowers on her kimono. To her surprise, Genma had put on the kimono for dinner with only minimal amount of resistance. It took more persuasion for him to leave the house without the bandana he habitually wore over his head.

As they entered the restaurant, Soun reflected on his family. He was proud of each of his daughters; besides being beautiful, they were all very strong women. After his wife's passing, Kasumi had become the rock that kept the family together, stepping in when Soun was too emotionally distraught to function. She eventually married a good man and had given Soun three wonderful grandsons. He was looking forward to spoiling his fourth grandchild, a girl they planned on naming Kimiko, after Soun's late wife.

Nabiki, his middle daughter, was always the hardest for him to understand. As a child she very bright but after her mother's death, she became withdrawn, choosing to hide her feelings behind an unreadable mask. Using that cool exterior, Nabiki had taken the world by storm and became a successful business woman, a great feat in the patriarchal society of Japan. He was slightly disappointed she never wanted to marry but understood that she feared it would be the end the career she worked so hard for.

Akane, his baby, was the spitting image of her mother and was the only daughter to openly show her emotions. When she was younger, Soun had worried that she was too angry at the world but didn't know how to help her. He was happy to see that while she was away from home, she grown into a thoughtful, mature young woman. His only regret was that she seemed to have given up on finding love. After seeing them getting along during dinner months ago, Soun had secretly (in his mind anyway) hoped that she would renew her engagement to Ranma Saotome.

Genma for his part was looking forward to the meal itself, since he could never afford to go to nice restaurants, much less taking his wife to one. Although he rarely showed it, anything that made his wife happy made him happy.

The maître d' escorted them into one of the restaurant's private dining areas. Inside, Soun found his son-in-law rocking a sleepy Tomeo on his shoulder. Tofu was wearing a black suit, white shirt and striped pink tie, his long hair pulled into a low ponytail. His three grandsons were wearing matching black suits, Toru grumpily tugging at his tie. Kasumi, wearing a pink knee length dress, cut high under her bust to accommodate her expanding waistline, ballet flats, her hair pulled into a ponytail by a crystal studded clip, was listening to her son. Standing next to her was Akane, dressed in a cream colored dress with a square cut top and lace cap sleeves, skinny ivory belt and simple a-line bottom, she paired with matching peep toe pumps, her hair pulled back in a bun that was positioned low and slightly to the right side of her head. Kinji, happy to be the center of attention, was waving his hands around while telling his aunty about his afternoon visit to the park. Upon seeing them enter, Toru and Kinji ran over to their grandfather for hugs and begged him to toss them in the air.

Soon after, Nabiki walked in wearing a slinky black wrap dress, black designer red-soled heels, holding a quilted evening bag, her hair in her signature blunt bob cut. What surprised almost everyone was that Nabiki walked in with Ranma, wearing a black three piece suit with black square knot tie. Seeing everyone's attention on them, Nabiki said, "Look who I caught trying to crash the party."

"Ranma, what are you doing here?" Genma asked, surprised to see his son.

"I was just telling Nabiki, Akane was gracious enough to invite me to dinner after mom told her I would be in town tonight."

More greetings were exchanged. The women all gave Ranma hugs and then proceeded to complement each other on their hair, dresses, shoes and anything else that was visible to the naked eye.

As things settled down, Akane cleared her throat and put her hands into pockets concealed into the folds of her skit. "Before we sit down for dinner, I have an announcement to make." Making sure she had everyone's attention, she pulled out her right hand and showed everyone the diamond ring that adorned her fourth finger, "I'm getting married..." Stunned silence followed. Akane turned her head and gave a slight nod to one of the waiters, who moved to the dividing wall behind her. He slid the panels to one side to reveal a small wooden arch decorated with flowers, eight chairs set up in two rows before it, standing next to the arch was a priest. "Today."

An eruption of noise followed as Soun cried, "My baby is getting married!" at the same time as Genma said, "The schools will never be joined!" Tofu stood silently by his wife, who had a slight frown marring her usual serene face. Nabiki being Nabiki, had quickly put a few things together and tried to look bored but the corners of her lips were curved ever so slightly. Nodoka, not wanting to make a scene, merely looked upset and was comforted by her son who patted her shoulder before walking forward. The fathers quieted immediately and stared at the duo, worried about the scene that was sure to follow.

However, jaws dropped as Ranma walked up to Akane, whispered into her ear, "You look breathtaking." He wrapped her into his arms, dipped her slightly, and gave her a long kiss.  
Silence was broken by Toru and Kinji who both said, "Ewwwww!" followed quickly by Nabiki saying, "About time Saotome!" The fathers began waving victory flags and cheered, Soun crying unabashedly. Kasumi graced them with a rare teeth baring grin, while Tofu wolf whistled. Nodoka, with tears in her eyes, walked towards them, her arms open for a hug. Ranma opened his arms to his mother, who walked right by him and embraced Akane. Ranma was slightly put out but happy to see that the two most important women still got along so well.

Ranma and Akane had opted on a simple western style ceremony and vows. However, they made some slight changes to the traditional ceremony. Akane opted not to have her father walk her down the aisle, they omitted the word "obey" from Akane's vows and completely skipped over the objections portion of the ceremony, not wanting to tempt the universe to rain chaos on their day. After the ceremony, the family enjoyed a small feast. The fathers sat at one end of the table drinking copious amounts of their favorite sake and making random outbursts. The rest of the adults, minus Kasumi, were drinking champagne and the boys were toasting with sparkling apple cider.

Ranma and Akane had begun to fill everyone in on the events of the last three months. After confessing to each other, Ranma and Akane had spent time just getting to know each other again. Ranma learned that Akane had kept up with martial arts but had given up breaking bricks. She explained that instead of helping her temper, brick breaking seemed to make it worse. Instead, she started doing yoga, which helped her center herself emotionally and gave her more muscle strength and flexibility. Ranma was impressed to see that it worked, her katas were smoother than he ever remembered them and she hadn't screamed at him once. Although, it probably helped that he had better control of his mouth and had avoided sticking his foot in it. Ranma was happy to find out that Akane had learned how to cook. Sure, she occasionally burned stuff and had the perplexing ability to overcook and undercook a dish at the same time, but Ranma didn't get food poisoning once since they started dating again. Ranma was not so happy when he learned that Akane had briefly dated a chef who had finally helped her learn some basics.

Akane learned that Ranma still liked to sleep late but was surprised that he ate normal quantities of food. His metabolism had finally slowed down and he didn't want to end up like his father. Ranma still practiced martial arts whenever possible and still liked to sneak in training while doing mundane things, like laundry. Akane was surprised to learn that he seemed addicted to reality TV shows, especially competition shows like the Amazing Race. He avoided shows like The Real Housewives like the plague.

After a week of spending every possible moment together, Akane suggested that Ranma check out of his hotel and stay with her. They found living together pretty easy, since they had practice at it while they were teenagers. They had quickly developed a daily routine: jogging together in the morning, followed by a sparring session in a nearby park. They would head home for breakfast and Akane would leave for work. Ranma met her for lunch on days she wasn't in meetings. Most dinners would be had at home followed by the pair doing mundane things like snuggling up together and watching a movie, telling each other stories from their time spent apart, or reminiscing about their adventures in high school.

One such evening lead to the first test of Akane's temper. They had just finished talking about the time Ranma and Shampoo tried to get the water proof soap from Ryoga, when Akane said, "I never knew why he had that soap to begin with." Ranma had nervously told her that Ryoga had a Jusenkyo curse and was actually P-Chan. Akane had gone completely still and quiet while Ranma explained his part in the curse, his warrior's vow to never reveal the curse and his frustration when Akane had adopted Ryoga as a pet. Ranma apologized for not telling her the truth when they were younger and said he didn't want any secrets between them now. He was slightly alarmed when Akane simply got up of the couch and walked into the bedroom but glad she didn't storm out of the apartment. She had been in there for an hour, not making a sound before he decided to check in on her. When he opened the door, he found her in the middle of an advanced yoga pose, forearms on the floor supporting her entire body weight, her body bent backwards and her feet touching her head, breathing steadily and seeming rather calm.

Akane had gone through several emotions after she learned of P-Chan's origins but it being eight years since she had seen Ryoga, the betrayal stung a lot less. It was Ranma's honesty that had gotten her over her anger rather quickly. The rest of the time was spent mentally kicking herself for being so oblivious. After she was done with her yoga, Akane told Ranma that she understood and while she was upset he kept it from her before, she was happy that he was being honest with her now. Ranma was pleasantly surprised when she pulled him into a deep kiss and then proceeded to give him a very intimate demonstration of her increased flexibility.

A month after they started dating, Ranma and Akane were out for their morning run. Anyone who knew them in high school would have instantly identified the pair. Ranma was wearing a red Chinese style top and black drawstring pants, his preferred exercise and lounging attire, and Akane was wearing a yellow gi. As they reached the park, they faced off. Ranma still refused to go all out on Akane but he did spar with her, correcting minor issues as they went. Akane had aimed a round house kick followed by a punch at Ranma, who then jumped up and spun over her head landing behind her. Suddenly, Akane found herself pressed against Ranma's chest, his arms wrapped around her. He nuzzled the back of her neck and whispered in her ear, "I don't want to wait anymore. Marry me, Akane. Not because of some agreement between our fathers, but because you want to spend the rest of your life with me." He turned her around to face him, she looked into his eyes and her heart swelled seeing the love pouring through his baby blues. Ranma put one hand on her cheek and drew small circles on her face with his thumb. Smiling, she leaned her head into his palm, brought one hand up to hold his wrist, gripped it tightly, pivoted, and threw him over her shoulder. With an "oof," he landed on his back and suddenly found the petite martial artist straddling his chest. Laughing she said, "You left yourself wide open." Akane then gave Ranma a kiss that made his toes curl. She pulled back, looked into his eyes and said, "Yes." The next night, Ranma took Akane out for a romantic dinner and presented her with a princess cut diamond set on a platinum band.

The wedding and reception had gone exactly as they planned. Keeping their fathers drunk kept them from asking the newlyweds questions that would lead to arguments. After the proposal, Ranma and Akane had started discussing their future together. They knew their fathers would want them to move back into the Tendo home and to reopen the dojo. They had quickly agreed that moving home would be a disaster. Akane had mixed feelings about Ranma opening up the dojo and left the decision up to him. Akane had one caveat for his continued work as a bodyguard, she hoped that he would travel less, a condition Ranma was more than happy to agree to.

After proposing, Ranma had left on a short trip to move out of his LA apartment, which he kept as a home base during his time as a bodyguard. After years on the road and carrying everything he owned on his back, Ranma was accustomed to living frugally and sparsely, so getting everything packed, sold or donated went rather quickly. While he was there, he had reached out to some old contacts to discuss opening his own agency in Tokyo. When he returned and told Akane about his plan, she had whole heartedly approved and they agreed to talk to their fathers after the wedding.

At the end of dinner, they poured their fathers into the back of the car service they had waiting for them and tipped the driver extra to make sure the men got safely into the house. Kasumi and Tofu had left earlier with their sons. They spoke a while longer with Nabiki, making plans for lunch the next day and then Ranma and Akane walked home hand-in-hand.

Ranma's favorite time of the day was in the evening, when the pair readied themselves for bed, and not for the obvious reasons. He loved sitting in bed, with the comforter around him as he watched Akane go through her nightly ritual. The sight of her freshly scrubbed face always gave Ranma flashbacks of a sixteen year old Akane and never failed to bring a smile to his face.

As he watched his wife fall asleep, wrapped in his arms, a new feeling washed over Ranma; a sense of contentment.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope this chapter was enjoyed as much as the rest. I didn't plan on writing it but Richard Ryley pointed out that P-Chan issue hadn't been resolved. Which left me to imagine how a grown-up Ranma would handle the subject. Then the engagement and wedding scenes popped into my head and demanded to be written.

Thank you to everyone who read this and especially those who left a review. I totally get what other writers have said, reviews really are like crack.


End file.

Ranma